Harness excess-length absorbing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A harness excess-length absorbing apparatus ( 1 ) includes a protector ( 4 ) for receiving a wire harness ( 14 ) in a folded-back condition, a harness guide member ( 7 ) which is provided in a folded-back portion ( 14 a) of the wire harness, and can be moved in a longitudinal direction of the wire harness, and urging members ( 5 ) urging the harness guide member in a direction to draw the wire harness into the protector. Flanges ( 26 ) are formed on and project substantially perpendicularly from opposite ends of a harness guide surface ( 25 ) of the harness guide member ( 7 ), respectively, and a claw ( 27 ) for holding the wire harness is formed at each of the flanges. The claws ( 27 ) are offset from an apex of the harness guide surface ( 25 ) toward one side of the harness guide surface. The pair of claws ( 27 ) are provided at each of the opposite sides of the harness guide surface ( 25 ) generally in a diametrical direction. Alternatively, the pair of claws ( 27 ) are provided at one side of the harness guide surface ( 25 ) generally in the diametrical direction, while slanting ribs ( 28 ), formed respectively by notching the flanges ( 26 ) in a slanting manner, are provided at the other side of the harness guide surface generally in the diametrical direction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a harness excess-length absorbing apparatusprovided with a harness guide member which urges a wire harness in adraw-in direction while folding back the wire harness within aprotector.

2. Related Art

FIG. 7 shows one conventional harness excess-length absorbing apparatusas shown in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication Hei 9-20189.

This harness excess-length absorbing apparatus 41 comprises a syntheticresin-made casing 42, a fixing guide 43 of a cylindrical shape providedwithin the casing 42 at one end portion thereof, a moving guide 44 of acylindrical shape slidably mounted within the casing at the other endportion thereof, and a coil spring 45 urging the moving guide 44 in adirection away from the fixing guide 43.

Within the casing 42, a flat wire harness 46 extends around the movingguide 44 and fixed guide 43 to be bent into a generally S-shape, and oneend of the wire harness 46 is connected to one connector 47, while theother end of the wire harness 46 is led to the exterior through aharness outlet port 48 in the casing 42.

A power-side wire harness 49 is connected to the connector 47, and theother end of the wire harness 46 is connected to an electrical equipmentor an accessory mounted, for example, on an opening/closing structuresuch as a door. In accordance with an opening operation of theopening-closing structure, the wire harness 46 is drawn out of thecasing 42 while compressing the coil spring 45. During a closingoperation of the opening/closing structure, the wire harness 46 tends tobecome loose or slack, but the coil spring 45 urges the moving guide 44to move in a direction of expanding of the coil spring, so that the wireharness 46 is drawn into the casing 42, thereby absorbing the slack(excess length) of the wire harness.

In the above conventional harness excess-length absorbing apparatus 41,however, the wire harness 46 was liable to be disengaged from the movingguide (guide member) 44 in a direction of a length thereof during thedrawing-out and drawing-in operations of the wire harness 46, and insuch a case there was a fear that a side edge portion of the wireharness 46 was brought into rubbing contact with the casing 42 and anend edge of the moving guide 44, and was worn or damaged. And besides,when the wire harness 46 was to be mounted or set within the casing,there was a fear that the wire harness 46 was disengaged from the movingguide 44 in the longitudinal direction thereof, or was lifted radiallyoutwardly from the guide, so that this mounting operation could not becarried out easily.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, it is an object of this invention to provide aharness excess-length absorbing apparatus in which a wire harness isprevented from being disengaged from a guide member during thedrawing-out and drawing-in of a wire harness, thereby preventing wear,damage, etc., of the wire harness, and besides during the mounting ofthe wire harness, the wire harness is prevented from being disengagedfrom the guide member and also from lifting away from the guide member,thereby enhancing the efficiency of the wire harness-mounting operation.

The above object has been achieved by a harness excess-length absorbingapparatus of the first aspect of the present invention which is providedin that the apparatus comprises a protector for receiving a wire harnessin a folded-back condition, a harness guide member which is provided ina folded-back portion of the wire harness, and can be moved in alongitudinal direction of the wire harness, and an urging member urgingthe harness guide member in a direction to draw the wire harness intothe protector, wherein flanges are formed on and project substantiallyperpendicularly from opposite ends of a harness guide surface of theharness guide member, respectively, and a claw for holding the wireharness is formed at each of the flanges.

In the above construction, the wire harness is folded back around theharness guide surface of the harness guide member, and opposite sideedges of the wire harness are positioned respectively along the flangesof the harness guide member, and the wire harness is prevented frombeing displaced from the opposite ends of the harness guide surface, andalso the wire harness is prevented by the claws (disposed respectivelyat the opposite side edge portions thereof) from lifting radiallyoutwardly from the harness guide surface.

The harness guide member and the urging member are incorporated in acombined condition into the protector, with the wire harness held by theclaws (that is, with the wire harness engaged with the claws), and bydoing so, the efficiency of the assembling operation is enhanced.

Within the protector, the urging member urges the harness guide memberto move in the direction to draw the wire harness into the protector,thereby absorbing the slack (excess length) of the wire harness. Thewire harness is drawn out of the protector in accordance with theopening or the closing of an opening/closing structure such as a door ora trunk.

The harness excess-length absorbing apparatus of a second aspect of thepresent invention, depending from the first aspect of the presentinvention, is provided in that the claws are offset from an apex of theharness guide surface toward one side of the harness guide surface.

In the above construction, the claws are provided respectively at cornerportions of the flanges which are disposed not at the apex of theharness guide surface but at the one side of the harness guide surface,and therefore the distance from the apex of the harness guide surface toeach claw is reduced into a small value, so that the harness guidemember can be made compact in the longitudinal direction and widthwisedirection of the wire harness.

The harness excess-length absorbing apparatus of a third aspect of thepresent invention, depending from the second aspect of the presentinvention, is provided in that a pair of the claws are provided at eachof the opposite sides of the harness guide surface generally in adiametrical direction.

In the above construction, the wire harness is positively held by thetwo pairs of claws, so that the disengagement prevention ability isenhanced.

The harness excess-length absorbing apparatus of a fourth aspect of thepresent invention, depending from the first or the second aspect of thepresent invention, is provided in that a pair of the claws are providedat one side of the harness guide surface generally in the diametricaldirection, while slanting ribs, formed respectively by notching theflanges in a slanting manner, are provided at the other side of theharness guide surface generally in the diametrical direction.

In the above construction, the pair of claws, provided at the one sideof the harness guide surface, prevent the wire harness from beingdisengaged outwardly from the flanges of the harness guide member, andwhen the wire harness is disengaged from the harness guide surface atthe other side thereof (where no claw is provided), the wire harness issmoothly returned (guided) to the harness guide surface by the pair ofslanting ribs provided at the other side of the harness guide surface.Namely, when the wire harness is pulled, the wire harness is moved alongthe slanting edge of the slanting rib to be returned inwardly to theharness guide surface. Without such slanting ribs (in which case theclaws are provided at the one side while high flange walls exist at theother side), the disengaged wire harness slides onto the flange, and thewire harness and its outer protective material are liable to be caughtby this flange, so that the restorability is adversely affected.

The harness excess-length absorbing apparatus of a fifth aspect of thepresent invention, depending from claim 4, is provided in that each ofthe slanting ribs intersects the harness guide surface in a directionsubstantially tangential thereto, and is continuous with the harnessguide surface.

In the above construction, the disengaged wire harness is guided to theharness guide surface along the slanting rib in the tangentialdirection, so that the restorability of the wire harness is enhanced.

In the first aspect of the present invention, the wire harness is heldin a stable condition by the claws disposed respectively at the oppositeside edge portions of the wire harness, and therefore the wire harnessis prevented from being disengaged from the harness guide member, andthe wire harness is prevented from sticking, wear due to slidingcontact, damage, etc., which would be caused by the disengagement of thewire harness, and therefore the power supply reliability is enhanced.And besides, the harness guide member and the urging member can beincorporated in a combined condition into the protector, with the wireharness held by the claws, and therefore the efficiency of theassembling operation is enhanced.

In the second aspect of the present invention, the distance from theapex of the harness guide surface to each claw is reduced into a smallvalue, so that the harness guide member can be made compact in thelongitudinal direction of the wire harness. Therefore, the apparatus canbe positively mounted in a narrow space in a vehicle or the like.

In the third aspect of the present invention, the wire harness ispositively held by the two pairs of claws, so that the disengagementprevention ability is enhanced, and the wire harness is more positivelyprevented from wear due to sliding contact and damage which would becaused by the disengagement of the wire harness.

In the fourth aspect of the present invention, the wire harness is heldby the pair of claws (provided at the one side of the harness guidesurface) against disengagement therefrom, and even if the wire harnessshould move over the slanting rib (provided at the other side of theharness guide surface), the wire harness is soon returned to the harnessguide surface along the slanting edge of the slanting rib. Eventually,the disengagement of the wire harness is prevented, and the advantagesof the first aspect of the present invention (that the wire harness isprevented from sliding-contact wear, damage, etc., and that the powersupply reliability is enhanced) are positively achieved, and besides theefficiency of the assembling operation is enhanced.

In the fifth aspect of the present invention, the disengaged wireharness is guided to the harness guide surface along the slanting rib inthe tangential direction, so that the advantages of the fourth aspect ofthe present invention are more positively achieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of one preferredembodiment of a harness excess-length absorbing apparatus of the presentinvention in its assembled condition;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of theharness excess-length absorbing apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an assembly (assembling structure)comprising a coil spring, a guide pin and a harness guide member whichare provided within the apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing one form of harness guide member;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a condition in which a wire harnessis installed on the harness guide member;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another form of harness guidemember; and

FIG. 7 is an exploded, perspective view showing one conventional harnessexcess-length absorbing apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of one preferredembodiment of a harness excess-length absorbing apparatus of the presentinvention in its completely-assembled condition (in a wire harnessdrawn-out condition), and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing theinternal structure of this harness excess-length absorbing apparatus.

The harness excess-length absorbing apparatus 1 comprises a syntheticresin-made protector (casing) 4, a pair of left and right metalliccompression coil springs (urging members or resilient members) 5received within the protector 4, synthetic resin-made guide pins 6passing respectively through the interiors of the coil springs 5, and asynthetic resin-made harness guide member 7 which is urged in itsexpanding direction by distal ends of the pair of coil springs 5, andcan slide along the guide pins 6 within the protector 6.

The protector 4 comprises a box body 2, and a cover 3 mounted on thisbox body 2 to close the same. The box body 2 includes a connectorholding wall 9 formed at a rear end portion of one side wall 8 (FIG. 2),a recess 11 (serving as a harness outlet port) formed in a centralportion of an upper edge of a rear wall 10, and frame-like retainingportions (retaining means) 12 (for retaining the cover) formed at thefront, rear, right and left side walls. The front, rear, left and rightdirections described here are given merely for convenience' purposes,and these directions are not always in agreement with those in actualuse of the protector 4.

A connector 13 is retained on the connector holding wall 9 by retainingmeans, and terminals within the connector 13 are connected to conductingcircuits of a flat wire harness 14. The flat wire harness 14 isinstalled at a widthwise central portion of the box body 2, and isfolded at a right angle at the rear end portion of the box body 2, andis connected to the connector 13. The connector 13 is connected via aconnector, for example, to a wire harness connected to a power source ona vehicle body.

The pair of coil springs 5 are disposed respectively at opposite (rightand left) side portions of the interior of the box body 2. Each coilspring 5 in its most expanded condition has a slight urging force(resilient force) acting in its expanding direction. Each guide pin 6 ispassed through the interior of the corresponding coil spring 5, and aflange portion 16 (FIG. 3), formed at a proximal end of the guide pin 6,is held against the inner surface of the rear wall 10 of the box body 2,and is retained by retaining means (a retaining hole 17 and anengagement projection), while projections 18 (FIG. 3), formed at adistal end of the guide pin 6, are engaged respectively in holes in afront wall 19 of the box body 2; and are fixed thereto.

As shown also in FIG. 3, the distal ends of the guide pins 6 are stoppedrespectively within annular portions 20 formed respectively at oppositeends of the harness guide member 7 (Only one guide pin 6 is shown inFIG. 3). Namely, claws (not shown), formed at the distal end of theguide pin, abut respectively against stopper projections 21 formed on aninner surface of the annular portion 20 (The claws are disposed at thefront side while the stopper projections 21 are disposed at the rearside), and in this condition the distal end (front end) of the coilspring 5 resiliently abuts against a rear end of the annular portion 20.The claws are formed integrally with slide ribs 22, and the slide ribs22 are slidably engaged respectively in guide grooves 23 within theannular portion 20, and the stopper projections 21 are formedrespectively at rear ends of the guide grooves 23.

The harness guide member 7, while compressing the coil springs 5, can beslidingly moved along the guide pins 6 in a harness draw-out direction,and also can be slidingly moved along the guide pins 6 in a harnessdraw-in direction by the urging force of the coil springs 5 acting inthe expanding direction. As shown in FIG. 1, the harness guide member 7is disposed in contact with an inner surface of a folded-back portion 14a of the flat wire harness 14.

As shown in FIG. 3, the harness guide member 7 includes the pair of leftand right annular portions 20 for sliding movement purposes, and acentral guide portion body 24 interconnecting the pair of annularportions 20. The guide portion body 24 has a half moon-shaped transversecross-section, and has a forwardly-directed arcuately-curved surface(harness guide surface) 25. As shown in FIG. 1, the flat wire harness 14is folded back around the curved surface 25 into a smooth arcuate shape.

As shown also in FIG. 4, flanges (flange walls) 26 are integrally formedat opposite (left and right) ends of the guide portion body 24,respectively. Each flange 26 has a projecting portion 26 a of agenerally rectangular shape or a generally triangular shape which isprovided at one side of the guide portion body 24 generally in adiametrical direction, and considerably projects generally radially fromthe guide portion body 24. A harness-holding claw 27 is formed at acorner portion of the projecting portion 26 a, and is directed inwardly.

The pair of left and right flanges 26 are provided, and the pair ofclaws 27 are formed on the pair of flanges 26, respectively. A gapbetween an inner surface 27 a of each claw 27 and the curved surface 25is sufficiently larger than the thickness of the flat wire harness 14.Each claw 27 is formed into a flat plate piece-shape, and is inclined atan angle of about 45 degrees relative to the longitudinal direction ofthe wire harness. The flat wire harness 14 is held by the pair of claws27 against disengagement from the guide portion body 24, and is alwaysdisposed around the curved surface 25.

The flange 26 is notched at the other side of the guide portion body 24generally in the diametrical direction, and extends in a tapering(slanting) manner in a direction generally tangential to the curvedsurface 25. This slanting rib (slanting projecting portion) 28intersects the curved surface 25 intermediate a proximal end 25 a and anapex 25 b of this curved surface 25 in the tangential direction, and iscontinuous therewith. The slanting ribs 28 prevent the flat wire harness14 from projecting (moving) outwardly from the guide portion body in thewidthwise direction, and even if the flat wire harness 14 should projectin the widthwise direction (that is, should move over the slanting rib28), the flat wire harness 14 is soon moved back inwardly by the slant(slanting edge) of the slanting rib 28.

That portion (designated by reference numeral 26 b) of the flange 26,corresponding to the apex 25 of the curved surface 25, projects to asmall height generally equal to the thickness of the flat wire harness14, and therefore the harness guide member 7 is formed into a compactdesign (low-height design) in the sliding direction. The claws 27 aredisposed at the one side of the guide portion body 24 generally in thediametrical direction, while the slanting ribs 28 are disposed at theother side of the guide portion body 24 generally in the diametricaldirection. The slanting rib 24 forms part of the flange 26.

As shown in FIG. 5, the flat wire harness 14 is disposed inwardly of theinner surfaces of the pair of claws 27, and is held againstdisengagement from the guide portion body. In this condition (shown inFIG. 2), that portion 14 b of the flat wire harness 14, extendingupwardly from the harness guide member, is folded back, and then is ledto the exterior through the recess 11 formed in the rear wall 10 of thebox body 2 (FIG. 2), and in this condition the cover 3 of FIG. 1 isattached to the box body 2. A recess in the cover 3 and the recess 11 inthe box body 2 jointly form the harness outlet port (also designated byreference numeral 11). A connector (not shown), connected to the thusled-out flat wire harness 14, is connected via a connector to a wireharness extending from an electrical equipment or an accessory mounted,for example, on an opening/closing structure such as a door and a trunk(luggage door).

As shown in FIG. 1, the flat wire harness 14 is installed to extend fromthe connector (13) side horizontally along an inner surface of a wall(main wall) 29 of the box body 2, and is folded back and curved aroundthe curved surface 25 of the guide portion body 24 of the harness guidemember 7. The guide portion body 24 is spaced from the wall 29 by adistance larger than the thickness of the flat wire harness 14, and theclaws 27 are disposed in close proximity to the inner surface of thewall 29. The folded-back portion 14 b of the flat wire harness 14extends around the curved surface 25 to be disposed outwardly of theproximal ends (that is, intersecting portions 28 b (FIG. 4)) of theslanting ribs 28 of the flanges 26 in the radial direction of the curvedsurface 25, and further the flat wire harness extends horizontallytoward the harness outlet port 11, and is led to the exterior throughthe harness outlet portion 11.

In this embodiment, the flat wire harness 14 comprises a flat cable 30(FIG. 2) covered with a soft protective tube 31 of a mesh-likeconstruction made of a synthetic resin, so that the flat wire harness 14is flexible. The flat cable 30 comprises a plurality of parallel circuitconductors provided in an insulative sheet. The provision of theprotective tube can be omitted, in which case the flat cable 30 iscovered at its outer surfaces with protective sheets to provide a flatwire harness.

In a mode of use of the above harness excess-excess length absorbingapparatus 1, the protector 4, shown in FIG. 1, is, for example,inverted, and is horizontally fixed to the vehicle body, and the flatwire harness 14 is bent upwardly intermediate its opposite ends by aguide member (not shown) provided outside the protector, and is fixedlyconnected to a connector (not shown) of the trunk. The flat wire harness14 is led out horizontally through the harness outlet port 11 in theprotector 4.

The mode of use is not limited to the above example, and there can beused an arrangement in which the protector 4 is disposed horizontally(that is, in a recumbent manner), and the wire harness 14 is installedhorizontally without the use of an intermediate guide member (notshown), or there can be used an arrangement in which the protector 4 isdisposed vertically, and the wire harness can be linearly drawn out inaccordance with an opening operation of a door or the like.

In the drawn-out condition (FIG. 1) of the flat wire harness 14, whenthe opening/closing structure such as a door is closed, the harnessguide member 7 is returned to its original position by the urging forceof the coil springs 5 exerted in the expanding direction, so that thewire harness 14, while following the harness guide member 7, is drawninto the protector 4, thereby absorbing the slack (excess length) of thewire harness.

In this embodiment, although the pair of left and right coil springs 5are used, there can be used a construction in which one coil spring 5 isprovided at a widthwise central portion of the box body so as todirectly drive the guide portion body 24 of the harness guide member 7as in the conventional construction of FIG. 7.

In the above embodiment, although the pair of claws 27 are provided atthe one side of the harness guide member 7 in opposed relation to eachother, while the slanting ribs 28 are provided at the other side thereofin opposed relation to each other, there can be used a modified harnessguide member 7′ (shown in FIG. 6) in which the provision of the slantingribs 28 is omitted, and flanges 26′ of a generally rectangular shape areformed into a larger size, and a pair of claws 27′ are formedrespectively at opposite ends of each flange 26′ (In this case, twopairs of claws 27′ are provided). In this case, also, the flat wireharness 14 can be held against disengagement.

In this case, however, when the flat wire harness 14 is to be insertedinside the two pairs of claws 27′, the flat wire harness 14, whilecompressed in the direction of the width thereof with the hands, must bepushed inside the claws, and therefore more time and labor are requiredas compared with the above embodiment. And besides, if the flat wireharness should be disengaged from the claw 27′, there is a possibilitythat the drawing-in and drawing-out operations are effected in thisdisengaged condition, and therefore in this respect, also, the structureof the above embodiment of FIG. 4 is superior.

Each of the claws 27′ in the embodiment of FIG. 6 is formed not into aflat plate-shape but into a curved shape (arcuate shape). In thepreceding embodiment (FIG. 4), each claw 27 of a flat plate-shape can beformed into a curved shape or other shape. In FIG. 6, reference numeral20′ denotes an annular portion, reference numeral 24′ a guide portionbody, and reference numeral 25′ a curved surface, and these portionshave the same functions as those of the above embodiment of FIG. 4.

In the above embodiment, although there is used the protector 4comprising the box body 2 and the cover 3, there can be used the type ofprotector 4 having a box body 2 and a cover 3 which are formedintegrally with each other, and in this case the internal constituentparts, including the coil springs 5 and the harness guide member 7, areintroduced into the protector, for example, through a rear opening (notshown) formed in the protector, and this rear opening is closed by anarrow plate cover (not shown).

The position and direction of the connector 13, provided at theprotector 4, can be suitably changed in accordance with the mode of use.And besides, instead of the flat cable 30, a plurality of insulatingsheathed wires (not shown), arranged parallel in a row, can be used asthe flat wire harness 14. Furthermore, although it is preferred that thecurved surface 25 of the harness guide member 7 have a semi-circularshape, it can have an arcuate shape, a round shape or others.

1. A harness excess-length absorbing apparatus comprising: a protectorfor receiving a wire harness in a folded-back condition; a harness guidemember provided in said protector, said wire harness having afolded-back portion that is passed partially around said guide member,said guide member being moveable with respect to said protector in alongitudinal direction of said wire harness, said harness guide memberincluding: a guide portion having a harness guide surface; flangeserected substantially perpendicularly from opposite ends of said harnessguide surface, respectively; claws, for holding said wire harness,formed at each of said flanges, respectively; and an urging memberurging said harness guide member in a direction to draw said wireharness into said protector.
 2. A harness excess-length absorbingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein said claws are offset from anapex of said harness guide surface toward one side of said harness guidesurface.
 3. A harness excess-length absorbing apparatus according toclaim 2, wherein a pair of said claws are provided at each of theopposite sides of said harness guide surface generally in a diametricaldirection.
 4. A harness excess-length absorbing apparatus accordingclaim 1, wherein a pair of said claws are provided at one side of saidharness guide surface generally in the diametrical direction, andslanting ribs, formed respectively by notching said flanges in aslanting manner, are provided at the other side of said harness guidesurface generally in the diametrical direction.
 5. A harnessexcess-length absorbing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a pairof said claws are provided at one side of said harness guide surfacegenerally in the diametrical direction, and slanting ribs, formedrespectively by notching said flanges in a slanting manner, are providedat the other side of said harness guide surface generally in thediametrical direction.
 6. A harness excess-length absorbing apparatusaccording to claim 4, wherein each of said slanting ribs intersects saidharness guide surface in a direction substantially tangential thereto,and is continuous with said harness guide surface.
 7. A harnessexcess-length absorbing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein each ofsaid slanting ribs intersects said harness guide surface in a directionsubstantially tangential thereto, and is continuous with said harnessguide surface.